One Chance
by LiveandBreatheWords
Summary: "Just how the Capitol robs children of their lives, they will also rob Katniss of the sweetness of first love. Her feelings aren't simple, and they are not entirely her own." Now, Katniss Everdeen has one chance to fall in love, but the question is... with who? AU.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: Hey =) I know this idea has been written before, and honestly I don't like to write something that has the same concept of something that has already been written. In this case, that would be how Katniss and Peeta fell for each other without the Reaping. I never gave much thought to this until the other day when I bought _The World Of the Hunger Games_. There was a line in the book that stated, _"That just how the Capitol robs children of their lives, they will also rob Katniss of the sweetness of first love. Her feelings aren't simple, and they are not entirely her own."_ **

**That quote is so true, and they also say how what she is feeling is mixed in with her own survival, and how it will appear to the audience. She never exactly got the chance to fall in love the right way, the Games took away even that for her. I felt so bad because of that, and also because I never thought of it in that way. I'm writing this because I wanted to give her a chance at real love without it being affected by the Games. I'm still deciding on whether I should continue it though. Note that this is different from the regular bread scene. **

**~Bree**

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_Prologue: The Beginning_

_Eleven year old Katniss Everdeen sat under a small apple tree, the rain pouring down on the cracked sidewalk, on the starving people of District 12. Still a child, but yet, she was already bruised, beaten, but most of all, alone. Her father had recently died, his death changing the Everdeen family forever. Her mother sat in a rocking chair in a room by the fireplace, her face expressionless, her arms, unreachable. Days went by, just in a matter of days, and Katniss' world was already crumbling down on her. Her mother would not return, she would never be the same. None of them would, this was a scar they would carry for the rest of their lives._

_But did her father's death give her mother the right to abandon her own children? She couldn't imagine what Prim was like when she was not around. No matter how much pleading, how much begging either of the girls did, their mother would not do anything. If in fact it weren't for them, she would not be eating either. At first, Katniss did not know what to think. Her father abandoned her, and with her first Reaping coming up, it made her feel all the more alone. She no longer had her parents with her. At age eleven, Katniss Everdeen was the new head of the family._

_She tried to keep her and Prim looking presentable, she tried making a little extra money by selling things they did not need, but nobody was buying. Too afraid to enter the Hob, a black market in which her she accompanied her father only a matter of times, and too young to enter her name more times for a supply of food, Katniss was losing hope fast. It was slipping away quickly, as if she were holding grains of sand, slipping from her fingers. She tried to catch it, tried to grasp tighter, but it did no good._

_But today, the end was coming; she just could not take it anymore. She had tried selling Prim's old baby clothes, but there were no takers. She could not deal with her younger sister's reaction if she returned home empty-handed. Prim, so delicate, so fragile, would be devastated if they had nothing to eat tonight._

_Either I go home with food, she told herself, or I don't go home at all. _

_But as the minutes flew by, as the rain poured harder, her stomach growled, and finally, Katniss Everdeen gave out. So this is it, she thought, this is the end. She closed her eyes, not knowing that she was standing several yards away from the bakery._

_Not knowing that there was someone watching from the window._

* * *

_There by the window, Peeta Mellark stood watching her. Why? He wondered, she was already going through so much just because of her father's death. Nobody had noticed, nobody had taken interest. That is, nobody except for him. He saw the circles under their eyes, the hollowness of their cheekbones, even the way it took so much out of them just to walk. He wanted to help, but he just did not know how. This was the girl he loved, and yet, she was nearly dying, right before his eyes._

_Out of nowhere Katniss Everdeen stopped walking, and for a moment, Peeta didn't know what to think. Suddenly, he saw her give out, right under the apple tree that he so loved to paint. He shook his head, stepping away from the window. His mother was busy helping a customer, not noticing the starving girl in their own backyard. He was grateful for that, because if she had seen her, Katniss would be in huge trouble. His mother hated those from the Seam, how they were always pawning through their trash, how they never seemed to be clean. It was one of the reasons the bakery was a family business. She would not let his father hire any employees._

_"Peeta!" His mother yelled, drowning out his thoughts. He rushed over to where she was at, and just like any other day, she gave him orders with no sympathy, no affection in her tone. He took the tray out when an idea struck._

_The clatter noise the tray produced made his mother whip around. He saw that the customer had already walked out the door, there was no escaping her wrath now. She grabbed a pair of tongs and swung at him, hitting him right under his left eye. It stung, but it did not matter anymore. He heard her yell, ranting on about how useless he was, how he couldn't work to save his own life._

_He checked the bread, it was burnt around the edges, but was still good enough to consume. Peeta turned to face his mother, whose expression was furious, "Feed it to the pigs you stupid creature! No one decent will buy burnt bread!"_

_With that in mind, Peeta Mellark ran outside, checking to see if Katniss was still there. Sure enough, she was. He began to tear off chunks of the first loaf, throwing them to the pigs. He double-checked when he heard the bell ring, and his mother hurried to help out a customer. When he was sure she was not looking, he tossed what remained of the first loaf, the second one following quickly behind. Before he even gave her the chance to reach for them, he was already back inside, the door shut tightly behind._

_Her father always told her she may not always get what she wanted, but she would always get what she needed. What Katniss Everdeen had wanted was for her father to return, for her mother to be alright, and for the Hunger Games to be over. But on that day, something changed. Katniss may not have known what to think on that day. She may not have known whether to thank him, to pay him back, or just ignore him and pretend the incident had never happened. But it did not matter, for Peeta Mellark had done so much more than just toss some loaves of bread her way. He saved her life, her family's, but most of all, he gave her the thing she had needed the most._

_Hope._

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**Authors Note: For those lf you who are wondering, I will be updating Just A Dream later on this week, Broken probably in two weeks. Sorry for the wait, but its the end of the year and things are a little chaotic right now. Should I continue with this? Review please! **

**~Bree**


	2. Let Go

**A/N: _Hey! It's been so long since I actually updated a story on fanfiction ^_^ if you've read my profile you would know that I said updates would start again in September, but… I couldn't help but update this one. School is starting soon, but without the pressure of gymnastics, updates for this story should come quicker. At least twice a week. Broken and Just A Dream I think I will be starting again in September. This is only going to be about 10-13 chapters, so odds are I might be able to finish this before September. I tend to write 1,000-2,000 chapters, but for this story I think I'll be changing that to at least 1,000 to 3,000. Either way, this story will get finished. You guys have my word :D _**

_**And now I'll stop ranting and let you read the chapter. =} P.S. it's between 1,000-2,000 words, but the next one will be a bit longer. **_

_***Bree***_

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_**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games, no matter how much I wish I did.**_

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"_Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind."_

_~William Shakespeare_

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Chapter 1.

"Rosen Mellark!"  
She watches as the color drains from Peeta Mellark's face as he sees his older brother climb the stairs, slowly, yet steadily. Everything he was thinking, everything he was imagining, is now gone. This day will forever haunt him, as will the upcoming weeks as he will be forced to watch his older brother fight to the death with twenty-three other innocent children. Katniss Everdeen cannot imagine what is racing through his mind right now, cannot imagine the pain, the grief that will come when his brother finally dies. The only thing she knows now is that in several weeks Peeta Mellark's life will never be the same.

His blue eyes, once full of depth, are now clouded, his face expressionless. She catches them exchanging glances as Effie Trinket asks for volunteers, notices Peeta's hand rising slowly, then stopping, all at once. Rosen shoots him a warning glance, and she knows right then that he will not let his younger brother throw his life away so easily. Peeta Mellark's hand retreats back to his side in defeat, and suddenly, as if noticing he held her attention, meets her gaze.

They stand there, motionless, for what feels like eternity. Images race through her mind, each of which involve the boy whose brother was chosen for the games.

Each of which involve the boy who saved her life.

And just like that, both turn away.

It is then that Katniss Everdeen realizes that she has forgotten how to breathe.

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The two tributes shake hands, the female tribute being a seventeen year old girl from the Seam. There is a vague familiarity about this girl, but Katniss cannot seem to recall the reason why. Perhaps they shared a class together at school, or even bumped into each other in the hallway. But as the anthem plays, the memory begins to surface. It is only when they shake hands that her suspicions are confirmed. He tenses only the slightest bit, as if cautious, as if he has held her hand before. The images all come back at once.

_They were together before, _Katniss realizes. Others may not notice the pain in her eyes, the way he holds her hand for just a second too long before letting go. But she is no fool. It was a secret, one that they swore would never be told. A secret that was not hers to share, but burned in the back of her mind.

It had been last year during the fall, the days where the leaves were changing colors, when the weather had begun to become slightly cooler. Katniss had already been running late to class when she heard voices coming from the empty room down the hall. Curiosity had gotten the best of her, and before she knew it herself Katniss was eavesdropping in on their conversation. She did not arrive in time to hear it all, just bits and pieces of their argument about a relationship that was already crumbling down. She watched as tears ran down the girl's face, the way he was able to comfort her all by just putting his arms around her.

He was a merchant, she was from the Seam. It was a relationship that would not last. It was one that just wasn't meant to be. But it did not stop them from trying. They were in love, and that was something that would never change.

"I love you," was the last thing he told her before walking away.

"I'll love you until I die," was the last thing she told him before he left her in the dust.

She may have not been an expert at love, but if there was one thing Katniss Everdeen knew, it was that people from the Seam always kept their word.

And that was what had scared her the most.

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"Katniss," Prim tugged at her sleeve impatiently, a gesture she had done since she was a toddler to gain attention from her older sister. "Katniss, are you okay?"

"I'm okay," she says, managing a smile that did not quite reach her eyes. Neither girl was convinced. "I'm okay."

She watches as Peeta's family enter the Justice Building, none of them acknowledging the others. She cannot help but wonder what if it had been Peeta that was chosen. Would she have gone to say goodbye, to thank him for what he had done for her, for her family? Would she have been at the edge of her seat as she watched him fight for his life, perhaps even going as far as to cry when the realization hit that he would not be returning? They were both questions she did not want to imagine, let alone answer.

And yet it would take not only her mind, but also her heart, to figure out why.

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_**A/N: I know it was short, and I'm sorry for that. But the next chapter will be longer, I wrote it this short because I have a lot in store for next chapter. If anyone would be interested in betaing or making a cover for this story, PM. I tried twice and both times the covers have come out horrible D: Questions, suggestions or comments are welcome. Review please! It would be so awesome if you did! =D **_

_***Bree* **_


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